Dubai International Capital (DIC), the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, has signed an agreement to acquire UK-based Doncasters Group Limited from Royal Bank of Scotland Equity Finance (RBEF).

The acquisition price was given as Dh4.5 billion ($1.23 billion).
Doncasters is a leading manufacturer of precision-engineered components and systems for applications in a variety of industries. 
The company operates 25 manufacturing facilities and employs over 4,500 people across Europe and North America. 
It has an international blue chip customer base in the aerospace and industrial gas turbines industries and the automotive turbocharger and medical technologies sectors.
Doncasters has longstanding and very close working relationships with all the leading global players in every area of its operations. Clients include Boeing, GE, Rolls-Royce, Honeywell in aerospace and Siemens.
The management team of Doncasters, led by Eric Lewis, is fully committed to the future of the company and will re-invest alongside DIC to increase their ownership further, DIC said.
This investment follows a series of strategic, value-driven investments by DIC including a $1 billion investment in DaimlerChrysler, the £800 million ($1.4 billion) acquisition of The Tussauds Group, along with its anchor investments of $272 million in JD Capital investment company in Jordan and $150 million in Ishraq, a company formed to develop and own up to 22 Express by Holiday Inn hotels in the Middle East.
DIC’s financial adviser on the transaction was HSBC Bank. 
RBEF was advised by Lazard & Co Limited.  Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to take place in February 2006.
Dubai Holding executive chairman Mohammed Al Gergawi said: “This acquisition is in line with our mission to take direct investments in leading international firms and blue chip organisations with the aim of generating long-term shareholder value, whilst creating strategic alliances for Dubai Holding”
Dubai International Capital chief executive officer Sameer Al Ansari added: “We found in Doncasters, as in the case of our investment in The Tussauds Group, a market leader with a strong committed management team, led by its highly respected CEO, Lewis, and attractive growth opportunities.
“We believe that together with the management team, we will continue to grow Doncasters and produce above average returns for all its shareholders.”
 Lewis said the acquisition was a strong affirmation of Doncasters’ continued growth prospects. 
“New ownership provides us with a stable platform from which we can build on our robust business pipeline. We are looking forward to working closely with DIC to continue to deliver strong growth in the future.
“We also take this opportunity to thank the Royal Bank of Scotland for its continued support over the past four years.”